On holiday you want to relax, not worry about what might go wrong. Photo / 123RF
On holiday you want to relax, not worry about what might go wrong. Photo / 123RF
Am I the only person who gets nervous about losing money when I travel?
I worry that my insurance won't pay out, money on my travel cards will disappear, my flights will be cancelled with no comeback, a volcano will erupt and I'll be caught by the fine print, I'llmiss a connection, someone will rob me of all of my cards and passport. Don't even get me started with the "what if my flight is cancelled due to a pandemic" question.
Travel does come with financial risks. Armed with knowledge, you can avoid some of the more common ones.
Travel cards These cards, loaded with foreign currency, are convenient but usually come with poor exchange rates, high fees and convoluted terms and conditions. Both the Banking Ombudsman and Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) have handled multiple complaints about these cards in the recent past. In one case heard by FSCL, "Declan" found that $706 had been withdrawn from his card. The provider said tough luck because he hadn't notified them of unauthorised transactions within 30 days of them occurring. Declan got his money back when FSCL agreed with him that the notification should be within 30 days of him discovering the loss. Check out: tinyurl.com/TransferWiseNZ
So much can go wrong on a holiday and it's not always covered by insurance. Photo / 123RF
Travel insurance So much can go wrong on a holiday and it's not always covered by insurance. In 2019, the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman heard from one couple who had to book flights to Chad in order to get their visas. Their passports, however, were lost by a courier en route to the relevant embassy and the insurance claim for unused travel was declined because they didn't have visas. Catch-22. Most travel insurance complaints I read on the dispute resolution services websites tend to come from people who haven't read their policy. Make sure that's not you.
Financial default of a travel provider FSCL heard a case where "Mira" found herself stranded in Mumbai. She bought new flights not realising her insurer wouldn't reimburse for financial default of travel providers, which is excluded from most travel insurance policies. The answer here is to ensure that your travel agent is IATA bonded.
Overseas booking services Every time I book something with Expedia, Trivago, Booking.com and other overseas providers I am painfully aware I'm at the mercy of Expedia or Booking.com's customer service staff. The Commerce Commission doesn't negotiate in individual cases, just prosecutes when companies are really taking the proverbial. At least local travel agencies belong to schemes such as the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand. TAANZ says it will refund $250,000 for unticketed bookings should your agency go bust. You can also take New Zealand based companies to the Disputes Tribunal.
Car hire Talk about tricky contracts. Car hire often has little fish-hooks, which I've written about before and there are lots of tricks such as the rental car company's insurance policy you pay a fortune for, not covering under-body damage. Check out more fish hooks at: tinyurl.com/RentalCarNZ
Airport parking While researching this article I found cases against airport car-parking services. One person had to spend $300 on a hotel for the night because they couldn't access an off-site parking facility at the time booked to liberate their car. That owner was reimbursed after going to the Disputes Tribunal.
One Kiwi victim of shoulder surfing had $3000 stolen from his card while overseas. Photo / 123RF
Overseas ATMs and point of sale terminals To his horror, one Kiwi victim of shoulder surfing had $3000 stolen from his card while overseas. The card company refused to refund the money because he hadn't reported that the card had been swallowed. FSCL decided that as he hadn't breached the terms and conditions he should be refunded.
If you truly think you've got a case against a provider for whatever went wrong on your holiday, then don't take "no" for an answer. A Community Law Centre can point you in the right direction for who to complain to. Or check out ComplaintLine.org.nz, which has links to all manner of complaint services. If you can't get the companies to respond in your favour then take to social media. Time and time again I've seen companies back down.
